A cadet from Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 810 at Baylor University has been selected to receive the highly competitive Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Cadet Kaitlyn Vana is the 1st Truman Scholar from Detachment 810 and the 10th Baylor student to earn this honor.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation selects Truman Scholars from finalists who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a government or nonprofit sector career, and academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.
“Cadet Vana’s selection as a Truman Scholar is well deserved and not only denotes her future potential within the military and government and reflects the mentorship of countless faculty members and military leaders who helped develop Kaitlyn into the person she is today. She is a shining example of what happens when you support, empower, and deliberately develop the youth of our nation who volunteer to serve in the world’s greatest military. We are proud of her accomplishments to date and expect great things from her in the future,” Lt Col Ken Sterling, AFROTC Detachment 810 commander.
Vana is double majoring in Mathematics and Slavic and East European studies with a minor in Russian. She also studies within the Baylor Honors Program in the Honors College.
She hopes to commission as a pilot and use her Russian, Ukrainian, and Azerbaijani language skills to better promote international cooperation. Her regional studies, alongside the Air Force’s aerospace studies courses, provide a unique opportunity for her to consider women’s roles in, and contributions to, U.S. military culture.
She was named among 62 Truman Scholars selected from 705 applicants nominated by 275 colleges, universities, and military service academies nationwide.